Method of sewing articles



Nov. 25, 1941. I. F. WEBB 2,264,032

METHOD OFISEWING ARTICLES 'Filed Aug. 31, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet J,

Irvin /9' I Webb SHAW/YMM Nov. 25, 1941. "I. F. WEBB v 2,264,032 METHOD OF SEWING ARTICLES Fil ed- Aug. 31, 1939 ,5 Sheets-Sheet 2 wirwwm glwvwtov Nov. 25, 1941; I. F. WEBB 2,264,032" 1 METHOD OF SEWING ARTICLES Filed Aug. 31, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 15 M I 14 16 A I" I g5 Y5 5 w Z 55 grwem/bo o way. A. Webb Nov. 25, 1941. 1. F. was I 2,264,032

METHOD OF SEWINGVARTICLES Filed Aug. 51, 1939 5 Sheet s-Sheet 4' 3 Wm t: I [P1111737 Ell/ebb Nov. 25, 1941; "I. F. WEBB 2,264,032 METHOD OF SEWING ARTICLES Filed Aug. 31, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 mm Irving I? (l/ebb am I Patented Nev. 25, 1941 METHOD OF SEWING ARTICLES Irving F. Webb, Elizabeth, N. .L, assignor to The Singer Manufacturing Company, Elizabeth, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application August 31, 1939, Serial No. 292,825

Claims.

, This invention relates to the art of manufacturing stitched articles and has for one of its objectives the provision of improved means for conveying the articles to and from the operators performing the stitching operations.

Another object of this invention is to reduce the handling by the operators of the material tobe stitched. When material for sheets, pillow cases and the like is processed, it is given a sheen which is called mill finish and the manufacturers of the sheet, etc., are desirous of having the material retain this finish. Her'etofore the material has been folded by the the sewing machine operators after each stitching operation and this folding and handling of the material removes the sheen or mill finish. The reduction in handling by my improved method permits the mill finish" to be retained andalso materially reduces the amount of calendering or pressing required after the stitching operations have been performed.

Further, my improved method almost entirely eliminates soiling of the sheet material in its process of manufacture, thus reducing the number of damaged articles which become seconds.

A still further object of this invention is to lessen the fatigue of the sewingmachine operators. The article is delivered to the sewing machine operators at a point in linewith the front edge of the sewing table and in a position so that its ends may be readily grasped by the operator and the stitching operation performed.

The operator is therefore, required to handle only a portion of the article and is not required to unfold the material, find the portion upon which she must sew and then refold the article, which in many instances is heavy and bulky.

Still further objects of this invention are to reduce the cost of manufacture of the article and to keep at a minimum the inventory of unfinished articles in the process of manufacture. With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear, the invention comprises, the devices, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter set forth and illustrated in the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment of the invention, from which the several features of the invention and the advantages attained thereby will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

' In the drawings:

'Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a conveyor and the stitching room equipment used in carrying out my improved method of manufacturing stitched articles.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation taken at one of the operating stations.

Fig. 4 is an elevation partly in section showing the arrangement of the material carrier and the stop which arrests the movement of the carrier.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a portion of the conveyor rail, the carriers and the station stop.

Figs. 6 and '7 are side elevation and top plan views, respectively, of the means for elevating the material carriers. v

In the embodiment of this invention selected for illustration I0 represents a rail or track preferably of L-shaped cross-section which s supported by means of columns, I I, H and brackets l2. It will..be understood that the rail l0 may be suspended from the ceiling by means of chains or that it may be supported from the floor by means of the columns ll as shown, or any other suitable means may be employed.

The rail I 0 is inclined downwardly from the station A (Fig. 2) to the station E and from the station E to the point F. Supported by and movable by gravity on the rails are the carriers or trucks indicated generally as l3, these carriers each comprising two ball-bearing flanged wheels l4 journaled on studs l5 fixed to a chassis Hi. The chassis I6 is formed with a lateral stop-lug I1 and an upstanding lug l8, the function of which will be hereinafter described. Depending from the chassis I6 and removably secured thereto by the set-screws H! are three depending rods 20, each of which terminates in a sleeve portion 2| which slidably receives the upper limb 22' of the horizontal U-shaped article carrying rod 22, the rod 22 being held in its adjusted position relative to its sleeve by the set-screw 23, and arranged transverse to track 10. As shown in Fig. 5, the

front end of each chassis is provided with a U- shaped member 24 and a shock-absorbing cushion 24' and the-rear end of the chassis is formed with a bumper 26. To eliminate some of the sway of the carrier a bolt 25 is threaded into the chassis and engages one side of the rail Ill.

It will be noted in Fig. 2 that the rail I0 is arranged inthe shape of an oval andit forms a continuous endless track for the carriers l3.

be sufficient room for the knees of the operator..

The track runs alongside of the stations and opposite each table, and carried by the rail is a stop comprising a pin 32 slidable in a sleeve 33 fixed to the rail ID by means of the nut 34. The pin 32 has a reduced portion 35 (Fig. 4) and a spring '35 acts against the shoulder on the pin 32 and reacts against the raillO for the purpose of constantly urging the stop-pin 32 upward. When the pin 32 is in its highest position, shown in Fig. 5, it will be engaged by the stop ll of the carrier and the carrier will be brought to rest in this position. When. however, it is desired to release the carrier to permit it to advance by gravity to the next station a treadle 38 (Fig. 3) is provided, which may be depressed by the operator. The treadle 38' is connected to one end of a chain 39 which passes over a pulley 40 carried by the upstanding rod 4|, and its other end is connected to one end of the be l-crank lever 42 pivoted at 43 to the arms. 44 fixed to the rail Ill. The other end of the bell-crank lever embraces the reduced portion of the stop-pinv32 and is held thereon by means of the nuts 44'.

As previously stated the rail or track I'll is inclined downwardly from station A to station E and from the station E to the point F, this permits the carriers to travel by gravity along the track to the point F. To elevate the carriers from the point F to thehigher station A there has been provided an endless chain 50 (Figs. 6 and 'I) which fits over the sprocket wheels 5! and 52.

The sprocket 5| is rotatably journaled on an elbow 53 carried by an upstanding arm 54 which is fixed to the track Ill. The sprocket 52 is carried by a shaft 55 which is journaled in self-aligning bearings 56 fixed to the under side of a supporting bracket 51 carried by post I i. The shaft 55 has fixed to it a pulley 59 connected bya belt 60 to the pulley 6| fixed to the shaft62 of a worm and wheel speed reducer 63, the reducer 63 being driven by a motor 64 supported on a bracket 65.

As shown in Fig. 6 the chain 50 is provided with a plurality of links 68 each of which has an outwardly extending portion which is adapted to engage the upstanding lugs l8 on the carriers l3. The links 68 engage the lugs [8 on the lower travel of the chain and force the carriers 13 to roll up the incline ID of the track l0 and thus return the carriers to station A.

In order to guide the carriers. into position so that the lugs l8 may be engaged by the links 58 a guide-rod I0 is provided. This rod has one end secured to the arm 54 and the other end secured to the arm H fixed to the rail l0 and is so positioned relative to the rail l0 and ID that it enters the space between the flanges of the wheel. l4 for the purpose of preventing the carrier from swaying on the track and to guide the carriers into the correct position. Also, two idler sprockets I2 and 13 have been provided to maintain the chain 50 at the correct height relative to the track l0 and to eliminate lateralsway of the conveyor chain.

The operation of the method herein disclosed will be outlined as applied to the manufacture of bed sheets. broad hem at the head, a narrow hem at the foot and the ends of these hems are closed, and usually a tag identifying the product is inserted in one of the narrow hems. The sheets are torn from a bolt of material in the tearing room and brought on trucks in large bundles to the loading station indicated as A in Fig. 2. The sheets when they arrive at this station have been folded in the Sheets have two hems, usually a i center and are then folded longitudinally through the center a second time to give four thicknesses of material. The sheets so folded are removed from the truck by a loader and slid over the open end of the article carrying rod 22, the torn ends of the sheets, upon which the sewing operations are to be performed, hanging down on both sides of the rod.

It will be noted that each truck or article carrier I3 is provided with three article-carrying rods and therefore each truck carries three sheets. After the truck has been loaded the operator at A permits the truck to move by gravity to the station marked B. The truck moves down the track against the stop 32, which is so located that the last sheet on the truck is stopped opposite and in close proximity to the front edge of the sewing machine table 30. The operator at station B selects the most perfect of the two torn ends of the last sheet on the truck and stitches in a wide hem at this end of the sheet. After this end of this sheet has been hemmed the operator at B depresses the treadle 38 which moves the stop 32 out ofthe path of the lug H on the carrier and the carrier advances by gravity to the station marked B. The station stop for station B is so arranged relative to the sewing table that the middle sheet on the truck stops opposite the front edge of the sewing machine table, and the operator at B selects the most perfect of the two torn ends of this sheet and stitches in a wide hem and then depresses the treadle to cause the truck to "move up to the station B". This station stop is so located that the sheet on the forward'end of the truck is stopped opposite the front edge of the table at B". After selecting the perfect end, as hereinbefore described, this operator stitches in a wide hem in the third sheet on the carrier and then permits the carrier to move to station C. The station stop at C is so arranged that the third sheet on the truck is stopped opposite the front edge of the table, and the operator at this station stitches in a narrow hem in the sheet- The truck is then advanced to station C and a narrow hem is stitched in the middle sheet. The truck is then advanced to station C" at which a narrow hem is stitched in the third sheet. At this point of progress through the unit all three of the sheets have been hemmed and the truck is permitted to advance to station D where the ends of all the hems are closed by a single operator.

The end closing operation is necessarily short for a seam only the width of the hem is required, thus enabling the operator to complete all of the work supplied by the hemmers in the unit. After the operator at station D has closed the ends of all the hems the truck is advanced by gravity to station E where it is unloaded by an attendant,

and the truck is permitted to advance down the inclined track II] to the point F where it is guided by the rod 10 intoa position whereby one of the laterally extending links 68, of the conveyor chain 50, engages the lug I8 on the carrier thereby causing'the carrier to moveup the inclined track l0 to the point of beginning or station 'A.

It will be understood that there are a large number, preferably about 35, trucks or carriers used with the unit illustrated, andthat there is always one or more carriers at each station, therefore, each operator is amply supplied with articles on which to perform their particular stitching operation. It will also be understood that the operations are performed on the articles without removing them from the conveyor and that the number of stations may be varied.

For instance if the operation at station D canWJe performed on four times as many articles as can be performed at the preceding stations, then each carrier would be provided with four hangers and It will be further understood that in the method selected for illustration the sewing machines at the stations B, B and B! are all'provided with hammers for making a wide hem and the machines at the stations marked C, C and C"- are provided with hemmers for making the narrow hem and that if, for instance, the ma-' chine at station B is out of commission for any reason, the operators at stations B and B" divide between them the work of operator B and the system continues to function.

It is apparent that the method and apparatus described is susceptible of material variations,

and, therefore, the privilege reserved of resorting "to all such legitimate changes therein as maybe embodied in ithe spirit and scope of the I appended claims.

Having thus set forth the nature of the inven tion what I claim herein is:'

1. Method of hemming the two opposite unfinished ends of a bed-sheet which consists in longitudinally folding said sheet a plurality of times transversely of its unfinished ends and suspending the longitudinally folded sheet at a subis stationary at one of said stations, and hemming the other end of said sheet'while said carrier-is stationary at another of said stations.

2. Method of hemmingtwo opposite unfinished edges of a sheet which consists in folding the sheet transversely of its two unfinished edges, 40 suspending the sheet intermediate said edges from a conveyor so that its unfinished ends depend from the conveyor, and in performing a sewing operation upon one unfinished edge at one station and transferring it to anotherstation and performing another sewing operation on its other edge. Y A

3. Method of hemming two opposite unfinished edges of a sheet which consists in folding the sheet transversely of its two unfinished edges,

slidingly suspending the sheet intermediate said edges over a rod carried by a conveyor so that. 7 its unfinished ends depend from the conveyor, and are in juxtaposition across the-line of travel and in performing sewing operations upon the 5 unfinished edges of the sheet while it is in suspension from said conveyor.

4. Method of hemming two opposite unfinished edges of a sheet which consists in folding the 'sheet transversely-of its two unfinished edges,

suspending the sheet substantially in the middle from a conveyor so that it unfinished ends depend from the conveyor, and in performing a hemming operation upon one unfinished edge at onestation and transferring it to another station and performing another hemming operation on its other edge. I

5. Method of hemmig the two opposite-unfinished edges-of sheets which consists in folding each of the sheets transversely (if-its tw'o unfinished edges, suspending a plurality of'sheets intermediate said edges from a carrier supportedby a conveyor, so that their unfinished edges depend from the conveyor, and in performing a four operators would perform the same operation 5 on each of the articles;

hemming operation upon one unfinished edge at one station arranged along said conveyor and transferring it to another station alsoarranged along said conveyor and performing another hemming operation on its other edge.

6. Method of hemmingtwo opposite unfinished edges of sheets which consists in folding each of -the sheets transversely of its two unfinished edges, suspending a plurality of sheets at a substantially central transverse fold on rods m0v-- ably supported by a conveyor so that the unfinsuspension on said conveyor. f

. '7. Method of hemming two opposite unfinish edges of a sheet which consists in folding the sheet transversely of its two unfinished edges,

suspending the sheet intermediate said edges from a conveyor so that its unfinished ends depend vertically from the conveyor and crosswise it to another station and performing, another hemming operation on its other edge.-

8. Method of hemmingtwo opposite unfinished edges of a sheet which consists'in folding the sheet transversely of its two unfinished edges, suspending r. plurality of the folded sheets intermediate said edges from a conveyor so that their unfinished ends depend vertically from the conweyor and are in juxtaposition crosswise, of the direction of travel of the conveyor and in performing a hemming operation upon the unfinished edges of the sheetsand closing the ends of the hemmed edges whilev the sheets are in suspension on the conveyor.

9. Method of hemming two opposite unfinished edges of a sheet which consists in folding the sheettransversely of its two unfinished edges, suspendingthe sheet, intermediate said edges from a conveyor so that its unfinished ends depend from the conveyor, and in performing a sewing operation upon one unfinished edge at.

other station and performing another sewingv operation on both ends of the sheet, all of said sewing operations being performed while said sheet is suspended on the conveyor;

. 10. Method of hemming two opposite unfinished edges of a sheet which consists in folding the sheet transversely of its two unfinished edges,

suspending the sheet intermediate said edges over a horizontally arranged rod carried by a conveyor so that its unfinished ends depend v'ertically from the rod and are in juxtaposition, and in performing a sewing operation upon one unfinished edge at one station and transferring it to another station and performing another mvnm F. 

